I provide commentary on political economy, police and prosecutorial abuse, and whatever else might come to mind.
Let justice roll down like waters,
and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream. Amos 5:24 (ESV)

Friday, June 4, 2010

Hand Jive: How Arnt and Gregor Suborned Perjury

(This is the second in a series on the testimony of the child accusers)

Oh what a tangled web we weave,
When first we practise to deceive!
-- Sir Walter Scott, Marmion, Canto vi. Stanza 17.

Part I: The Original April 14 Allegations
One of the difficulties that prosecutors face in presenting evidence that involves a lot of different people is making sure the story is fairly straight and consistent. Even if everyone involved believes to what they are testifying, and even if everyone is attempting to tell the truth, there are bound to be inconsistencies with a large number of people.

What happens, however, when these witnesses are part of a larger frame on behalf of prosecutors? Coordinating the testimonies of people who have fabricated reams of material is even more difficult, and a potential train wreck always looms. In the trial of Tonya Craft, that train wreck occurred right as the trial began, on April 14, when (Accuser #1), Sandra Lamb's "child actress" daughter testified. This account appeared in The Chattanoogan:

“She stuck her fingers in my vagina and it hurt,” the young witness said clearly. When asked did anything else happen, the little girl answered, “She stuck her fingers (making a hand gesture as to how) up my back part.” When asked, she replied that it had also hurt.

As defense attorney Demosthenes Lorandos wrote in a May 17, 2010, criminal complaint to U.S. Attorney Sally Yates, the "child accuser" detonated what was the judicial equivalent of a major explosion:

At trial April 14, 2010 (Accuser #1) testified that after the June 4th, 2008 interview (with Suzi Thorne of the Greenhouse) was completed...after she had been asked sixteen times if there was "anything else?"...(Accuser #1) was walking down the hallway with interviewer Suzi Thorne and "just remembered" that Miss Tonya put all four fingers together with her fingers and thumb, penetrated (Accuser #1's) vagina. This was quite a shock to the Defense. There was absolutely no documentation of this conversation in any file, document, report or summary. (Emphasis theirs)

One has no idea if this child had rehearsed this line with her mother or prosecutors or if she simply blurted it out on her own. Nonetheless, the prosecution had some explaining to do, and Chris Arnt and Len Gregor apparently were up to the challenge.

(The defense did object to this testimony, given it had not appeared in any of the discovery materials, but -- surprise, surprise -- "judge" Brian House overruled the objections and permitted the child to continue to embellish her story.)

Before examining how the prosecutors decided to handle this hot potato, keep in mind that the child was describing a vicious sexual assault that would have created major physical damage, the kind that had not been discovered in any physical exam she had taken. The CAC SANE Sharon Anderson already had testified, and while she had claimed to have witnessed potential damage to the young girl's vagina, nonetheless the kind of injury that this alleged "hand rape" would have caused would have been obvious, not "highly suspicious."

Thus, the prosecution was already in trouble, as one of its "star" witness had pushed them into a corner. She had alleged an event that was so violent that the injuries would have been evident immediately. Furthermore, this alleged event was not in any of the prosecution's materials, which meant that unless prosecutors came up with a plausible story, then anyone who suspected the whole thing was a frame would have been given even more ammunition.

There were two possible reactions that Arnt and Gregor could have made to the child's bombshell. The first one would have been for them to have told House that this account surely was exaggerated, and that there was no physical evidence to back up the claim. They would have reasoned that children sometimes are carried away and that the jurors should understand that child witnesses can exaggerate, but that the exaggeration did not take away from the "truth" of her allegations. In other words, had House and his tag team of prosecutors been thinking clearly, they would have let the objection stand and back off this horrendous claim.

However, they decided that if they were in for a dime, they were in for a dollar, and one can understand their thinking, as deceitful and dishonest as it was. These are people who are used to having their own way, and House always was happy to stick it to the defense. Furthermore, most likely they figured that these "shocking" allegations would further prejudice the jury.

The problem was that they now had the child making a claim that had not been documented anywhere, and it would have been hard to explain to a jury or to anyone else why such a seemingly important piece of evidence had been ignored. So, after the girl made the audacious claim, the prosecution went to Plan B: the adults would tell even more lies.

The prosecution has set up a room for the prosecution witnesses (Greg and Sandra Lamb, Dewayne and Sheri Wilson, Jerry and Kellie McDonald, Joel Henke and others...) where they are allowed food and drinks... are allowed cell phones and books. Furthermore, they have their own entrance to the courthouse... and do not have to go through security when entering the building.

Keep in mind that witnesses are not supposed to be congregating before they give testimony, but that precisely is what the prosecutors arranged for the prosecution witnesses and their supporters in this trial. Furthermore, even though these witnesses were put together in a most cozy and privileged situation, they STILL had trouble getting their stories straight.

The first witness to try to patch the hole created by (Accuser #1) was Sherri Wilson, who testified for the prosecution on April 19. Here is part of the account from The Chattanoogan:

Once back at the Wilson residence the two sat on the sidewalk and the young girl told Ms. Wilson that Miss Tonya “had touched her on her privates." Ms. Wilson formed her fingers and thumb and made an up and down motion to indicate how the girl said it happened. (This "disclosure" allegedly occurred on May 24, 2008, and the date will be crucial, as readers shall see.)

Again, the hand motion that Wilson used was one in which the damage to the vagina of a young girl would have been horrendous, and certainly was something that would have caused a lot of pain, bleeding, and other symptoms. With Wilson supposedly having been told about this terrible assault, the defense, while cross-examining her, made the following point, as Dennis Norwood described in The Chattanoogan:

Ms. Wilson, a paramedic who co-owns Angel Life Support emergency services with her husband Dewayne, could not recall whether or not she was required to report sexual assault as a first responder, saying, “I have no idea what I’m supposed to report.”

According to Georgia law all medical personnel are considered as mandatory reporters and failure to do so is a misdemeanor crime. Ms. Wilson testified that she never reported the allegations of the alleged victim to law enforcement personnel, although she did call Detective Steve Keith, a personal friend, to see what the first step would be if her daughter had been assaulted.

Indeed, one would think that Wilson would have been derelict in her duties had she actually learned of a sexual assault in which a woman allegedly shoved her fingers and thumb into the vagina of a little girl. This is not garden-variety "digital penetration." No, this is an out-and-out "hand rape," and one that would have physically and psychologically scarred the child. Furthermore, I doubt seriously if Wilson actually was ignorant of the reporting requirements of the law, and if she was telling the truth when she claimed to have "no idea what I'm supposed to report," then she and her medical operation need to be investigated by state authorities for dereliction of duty.

Nonetheless, there are two troubling facts that make it plain that Wilson was committing perjury:

In all of the notes and documentation of the case, Sandra Lamb never once mentioned this particular assault, despite the fact that Wilson claims that she was informed about this alleged incident in the presence of Lamb and her child. One would have thought that a distraught mother would have made something like this front-and-center in her allegations. It does not seem plausible that Wilson would have known about this but Lamb would have been ignorant of it.

The first time this alleged incident supposedly was "disclosed" was during an interview with Suzi Thorne at the Greenhouse in Dalton on June 4, 2008. People who are familiar with the calendar know that May 24, 2008, comes before June 4, 2008.

Thus, Wilson's account of this alleged terrible assault has her knowing about it even before the child had told anyone. Granted, Wilson might have special intuition, but I don't remember the prosecution claiming that she was clairvoyant.

There are other red flags as well. According to the police notes, Dewayne Wilson, Sherri's husband, allegedly contacted Det. Steven Keith on May 24, 2008, but reported only "inappropriate touching." Moreover, in none of the subsequent interviews with Thorne, Holly Kittle, and Laurie Evans, is the so-called "hand rape" mentioned at all, which simply makes no sense, given the violence of the alleged incident.

While it is true that much of the prosecution's case bordered on the bizarre or worse, this event stands out, as incredible as that might be. As one SANE told me, given the size of Ms. Craft's hand, the idea that she could jam her fingers and thumb into the vagina of a girl of kindergarten age without it causing bleeding and other trauma is ludicrous. Sandra Lamb surely would have noticed blood on her daughter's underwear in the aftermath of this alleged assault. However, as ridiculous as this story might be, nonetheless, the prosecution decided to run with it, enlisting the Thorne in its attempt to prop up what was becoming the Big Lie.

Part III: Suzi Thorne "Just Remembers"
By this point in the trial, the prosecution was in trouble, and in more trouble than Arnt and Gregor might have realized. However, Suzi Thorne's testimony was significant both in what she said, and what the prosecutors did not ask. I noted in my first post on Thorne's testimony that the perjury was obvious, but it is important to note that Thorne's claim of the phantom June 4 "disclosure" came in response to defense cross-examination, not on direct questioning from the prosecutors.

If that sounds strange, there is a reason for it, as Dr. Lorandos in his criminal complaint to Sally Yates explains:

At trial April 20th Children's Advocacy Center interviewer Suzi Thorne testified that after the June 4, 2008 interview, and after she asked (Accuser #1) sixteen times if there was "anything else?" that child remembered; (Accuser #1) came into her office where she was writing her report of the interview [(Accuser #1) had testified six days earlier that she and Suzie were walking down the hallway after the interview when Accuser #1 "remembered"]. Ms. Thorne testified that (Accuser #1) told her that Tonya had inserted her fingers into her vagina -- and (Thorne) gestured just as (Accuser #1) and Mrs. Wilson had. This was another shock to the Defense. There was absolutely no documentation of this conversation in any file, document, report or summary. It is noteworthy here to explain that the State Prosecutor explicitly refrained from asking this interviewer in his direct examination anything whatsoever concerning the after the interview "remembering." Obviously, to ask a question one knows will elicit perjured testimony is virtually automatic disbarment. (Emphasis theirs, boldface type mine)

However, the damage was done, and on top of that, the defense was complaining loudly that there had been no documentation of this "hand rape." What to do? The prosecution decided that its only hope was a deus ex machina rescue, and Det. Tim Deal was up to the task.

Yes, Deal claimed to have found the very documentation that had been missing, and it must have been under the defense's nose all the time, which is what elicited Gregor's question about lying. (Again, keep in mind that Gregor was accusing the defense of lying about the perjury being committed by the prosecution. One needs a program to keep up with this nonsense.)

Again, Dr. Lorandos in his complaint puts it into perspective:

At trial April 21st and 22nd 2010 lead Detective Tim Deal testified that his file in the past was in the same condition and with the same documentation "as it is today." Whereupon he produced an Investigative Summary authored by him and Allegedly Dictated 07-08-08 / Allegedly Typed 07-27-08 In this summary, although he was not present for the June 4th, 2008 (Accuser #1) interview, Detective Deal wrote -- "After the interview, (Accuser #1) came back in to speak with Suzie. (Accuser #1) thanked Suzie for allowing her to speak with her and stated that there was something else that she did not tell Suzie. (Accuser #1) then told Suzie that Tonya had inserted her fingers into her vagina and it felt bad." This was another shock to the Defense. This document was absolutely not in the material turned over in discovery nor was it in the material two defense attorneys poured over, a month before trial. (Emphasis theirs)

One should keep in mind that it is a federal crime to make false statement in documents given to federal officials, so Dr. Lorandos, in filing this complaint, was placing his own liberty and career in jeopardy if he believed these statements to be falseor if he was being reckless or careless with the truth. That means that he was willing to risk everything he had in order to tell Ms. Yates that neither he nor the other defense attorneys had received the document that Deal magically produced in court during his testimony.

Yes, in this post I am claiming that (Accuser #1), Wilson, Thorne, and Deal committed perjury, and that both Arnt and Gregor suborned perjury. The discrepancies in the testimonies AND in the dates that were alleged are such that there is no other way to interpret these events, unless one believes that all of these events occurred in a parallel universe. Perjury is a felony, which means that the case against Tonya Craft actually did find people committing felonies, but it was the accusers who were lying under oath, not Ms. Craft.

During his closing arguments, Arnt deliberately misrepresented the testimony of Dr. Nancy Fajman, who examined the photographs taken by Sharon Anderson. (Dr. Fajman, as readers recall, said that she saw no damage to the private areas of the three girls who testified against Ms. Craft.) My sense is that Arnt was attempting to keep the "hand rape" lie alive by trying to convince jurors that there really was serious injury that could have been caused by this phantom assault.

Furthermore, it also is clear that if these witnesses were committing perjury, then the prosecution suborned perjury, and the punishment for that is supposed to be disbarment. Whether or not the Georgia State Bar is willing to act is another matter for another post.

Note: I will not be making any new posts over the weekend. However, Monday's post will deal with how Suzi Thorne took statements from Tonya Craft's daughter about her mother putting medicine on her bottom (to deal with rashes because of stomach illnesses and subsequent diarrhea) and turned that act into sexual assault.

Thursday, I listened to Kerwyn read me a transcript of the interview that Thorne had with Tonya's daughter, and it was unbelievable hearing just how Thorne manipulated this little child, tied her into knots, and convinced her that her mother's act of putting medicine on the child's bottom and vagina was bad, thus turning this girl against her mother. Apparently, the sterling "investigators" with the Children's Advocacy Center believe that changing diapers or putting medicine on private places -- something parents do for their young children on a regular basis -- actually is sexual assault.

The child presented NO evidence of sexual abuse, none. The transcripts show a child becoming frustrated as Thorne repeatedly -- and deliberately -- twists what the girl is saying, driving her to frustration and tears. Should one doubt the very bad intentions of the CAC crowd, just read the transcript and you will see what I mean. The Monday post will demonstrate, I believe, just how bad the faith really was.

158 comments:

You had wrote;"The prosecution had one advantage: it was illegally keeping its witnesses in a "secret room" in the courthouse in which the witnesses could congregate, compare notes..."

As I recall, it was told that Saundra Lamb used notes as she testified. I remember that really grabbing my attention, but there was never any mention that the use of notes were objected to. If accurate, maybe the defense already had copies of some notes she'd written and assumed they were the same.

Love reading your insights Bill. I have followed this case from the other side of the world and log on here first thing every morning to read your blog...it is always spot on...thank you for taking on this disgustingly corrupt system and doing your bit to remedy it. Fingers crossed it works so that the people of Georgia can live in peace knowing their rights are being upheld and they will not be arrested one day and threatened with a life long jail term by a bunch of red necks!

I hope Tonya's accusers read these daily blogs also (as I guess they do given the troll activity around here some days!!) and know how much disrespect they have earned themselves around the globe...as for the prosecutors and "judge"..my goodness boys, I don't even know where to start with you except to say I have never in my life encountered less professionalism or more inhuman, childish disregard for the constitutional rights of one of your citizens...I may not know Georgian law..but as a lawyer in another country, I thank God you are far far away from my legal system. You would all be disbarred and queueing up for welfare where I live...actually, come to think of it..jump on a plane boys and head west (and keep coming several thousand miles)...Georgia could use a break and we could use a good laugh...Caroline

Wow! This is your best post yet! Unbelievable to see how every prosecution witness lied to back up what one child accuser said. The excerpts of D-Lo's complaint to Sally Yates is very interesting as well.

I agree with Kaye. Very interesting. And I don't think the few letters released to NCSlime are anywhere close to the outrage poured on the state and federal offices in regard to this case. All I can say is these people are digging themselves some very deep holes. Those holes might actually surpass the sinkhole that appeared in Guatamela after the recent storms there, and that was the biggest I've ever seen. Go for it, Bill. You have them hanging with no net to catch them when they fall!

OMG! From everything I read on this case, I knew the accusations were the result of the accusers' parents' agendas + the prosecution's will to convict, but I had no idea the testimonies for the prosecution were orchestrated to this extent. (The whole thing was not very smartly done, though, as Bill points out. It seems rather amateurish!)

I used to think that Sherri Wilson was merely willing to believe the fantasy rape that was told by the child actress, but I am so glad that Bill has opened my eyes to a much bigger and systematic deception!!!

I am looking forward to read about Suzi Thorne's deception.

Who can ignore this kind of atrocity against another human being any more.

Wilson testifies that after the pool part (5/23) the Lamb child told her mother she needed to talk to Sherri about "something" (she can't talk to her mom?). On 5/24 supposedly Lamb brings the child over who proceeds to tell Wilson about this hand rape incident. Remember, Lamb has already (5/19) filed a DFACS complaint against Tonya for child 3 touching child 1.)

Strangely, Det. Keith's notes indicate that Dewayne calls him on 5/24. Dewayne then proceeds to go on and on about another child who wrote words on his sidewalk and then, almost as an afterthought adds, Tonya had touched Lamb child "inappropriately."

The problem with the above is that Sherri Wilson testifies SHE calls Keith. Apparently either Keith forgot this and didn't document it or confused Dewayne with Sherri.

How convenient that Deal "suddenly" finds this document (a whole page describing the 6/4 interview) when prior to that date, every other interview that Deal and Keith note are a short one paragraph. More interesting is that Keith originally documents the 6/4 interview as follows:

On 060408, Suzie Thorne spoke with Child 1 at the Greenhouse. During the interview, Child 1 disclosed that Tonya had TOUCHED (my emp) her vagina under her clothing and inserted her FINGER (my emp) into her vagina. Deal, tries to explain this away during testimony as a typo (finger rather than fingers) except that Child 1 is very clear in her taped interview as to A SINGLE FINGER. She even goes as far as telling Thorne WHICH finger was used.

Yet during the trial, AFTER Lamb Child testifies,very descriptively I may add, to this hand rape. After Thorne testifies to it and doesn't document this anywhere and can't ever remember WHICH detective (there are just so many!) is supposedly sitting in her office when Lamb child shows up alone (where is her mother?) to say this (remember Lamb child testifies her and Thorne were walking down the hall together when she tells her. After Tim Deal spends a day on the stand, AFTER all that, Deal suddenly shows up to court with this summary? Well of course he HAS to since there is NO documentation ANYWHERE of this.

Other than in court, during child 1 testimony or amazingly, after the testimony by few more Prosecution witnesses, this is NEVER EVER mentioned by anyone, not Anderson (SANE), Wilson, Lamb, McDonald, child 1, 2 and 3, Long, Kittle, Evans, Thorne, Keith or Deal in MULTIPLE forensic interviews,Medical evaluations, interviews with Deal, therapy sessions with the sterling Evans, depositions, ANY case notes, Detective notes/summaries or previous testimony.

For future use, a good site on prosecutorial ethics: http://www.ethicsforprosecutors.com/research.html

Here is another page with some interesting disciplinary actions, including actions for improper cross-examination by prosecutors: http://www.ethicsforprosecutors.com/attorney_disciplinary_opinions.html

Bill, today's post confirms what I have believed since the beginning of this fiasco; Sherri Wilson was the ring leader from the get-go. It is painfully obvious that all of these mother's rantings were done in front of their daughters. Isn't it funny that Ms. Wilson's daughter wasn't one of the accusers? This woman knew there was no evidence of molestation and was careful to keep her daughter out of it. I honestly don't know how this woman can hold her head up in public as she has been exposed for the wretch she really is.

Bill, Your column on LewRockwell.com this morning is a masterpiece. I love it when you take that fake, Jim Wallis, apart. For you who have not read Anderson on Wallis before, here's the location of today's column. Make sure you read you read the column by Lew Rockwell on China (of which Wallis was a supporter) mentioned by Bill.rs

How Christian Is Sojourners Marxism?www.lewrockwell.com/anderson/anderson288.html

At trial April 14, 2010 (Accuser #1) testified that after the June 4th, 2008 interview (with Suzi Thorne of the Greenhouse) was completed...after she had been asked sixteen times if there was "anything else?"...(Accuser #1) was walking down the hallway with interviewer Suzi Thorne and "just remembered" that Miss Tonya put all four fingers together with her fingers and thumb, penetrated (Accuser #1's) vagina.

At trial April 20th Children's Advocacy Center interviewer Suzi Thorne testified that after the June 4, 2008 interview, and after she asked (Accuser #1) sixteen times if there was "anything else?" that child remembered; (Accuser #1) came into her office where she was writing her report of the interview [(Accuser #1) had testified six days earlier that she and Suzie were walking down the hallway after the interview when Accuser #1 "remembered"]. Ms. Thorne testified that (Accuser #1) told her that Tonya had inserted her fingers into her vagina -- and (Thorne) gestured just as (Accuser #1) and Mrs. Wilson had.

Am I missing something? Is this supposedly the same incident? one time they state she was walking down the hall & stated it, next she came to the desk where Ms. Thorn was sitting. so which was it? another contradicitng story?

I was just thinking. There is no reason why it should cost the people $2100 for a transcript of this case. This is just a case of the government trying to make it difficult for us to get the facts. If they can copy page after page of testimony, why can it not be scanned to a dvd once and then copied as needed. It would only cost a few cents to do that. There's no legitimate reason not to do that. I would love to have access to the actual testimony in this case. What do you think, Bill? Why is this not done?rs

One word makes me smile... "insider." While Mr. Anderson presents a very compelling case for intentional conduct on the part of the prosecution and their cronies, "intent" is a state of mind. Rarely do you get to pry into someone's mind, nor do they ever confess. Instead, you have to rely on circumstances. However, if there is an "insider" who was that close to the prosecution, that individual, depending on what they witnessed, could be a key into what Gregor and Arnt said and did behind the scenes. That is as close to being inside their head as it ever gets. Just the thought that there might be a mole ought to have the LMJC in a frenzy. Let the finger pointing begin.

Great post! A little off track, but I always wondered what the heck was so terrible that a child wrote sex and kissing in chalk by the pool?? Those words are EVERYWHERE in our society today. Print, radio, tele, conversation and acts in public in broad daylight. I have never understood the connect by the accusers that someone was molested. Just a very crazy piece of the Big Lie and not a very good one.

Anon 11:50:" I was just thinking. There is no reason why it should cost the people $2100 for a transcript of this case.

It was actually $21,000 (you may have just accidently dropped a digit while typing).

The court reporter is who the one that would be getting the money, not the "government".

My guess is that she spent about 14+ hours a day working on it for a month, so she does have lots of time invested. The unfair parts of it, IMO, is that the transcripts could be sold more than once and most states pay them a minimum fee for their services.

I am not certain how the details play out on this topic in Georgia courts.

First of all, I think D-Lo is incredibly smart and able to think quickly. Besides, he specializes in child molestation cases, right? So, he knows what protocols all the specialists must follow in the cases of rape or molestation. He must smell the scent of foul play immediately when someone does not follow the protocol as in the case of Sherri Wilson the paramedic who did not report the alleged "hand rape" to the authority upon hearing about it!

you said "How did DLO know to ask the question if he had no information if this horrible claim? Was it from area gossip that this was going to be introduced?"

Dlo did NOT know it was going to be introduced since there was no record of it. Child 1 blurted this out on the stand. That was the first time anyone had heard of it. This is why he objected strongly when she said it only to be over ruled by House.

That left the prosecution scrambling. To compound it, Thorne's testimony screwed them up further when she stated that she did not document this statement BUT... there was a detective (she can't remember who) who wrote it down she thought. That was her excuse for NOT having documented it.

That led to Deal (even tho he testified he was NOT there on the 4th) HAVING to cover the prosecutions proverbial ass with a falsified document that up until then did not exist anywhere in court the next day in court.

Add in the BIG discrepancy between the child's testimony of "walking down the hall holding Thorne's hand when she "suddenly remembers" this viscous hand rape and Thorne's testimony that she was sitting at her desk writing up her notes when the child appears apparently by herself to tell her this startling news and the pattern begins to fall into place very clearly.

I have no idea what Court Reporters use in Georgia, but do know that I've obtained "NOT CERTIFIED" copies of transcripts in a digital format rather cheaply, when compared to cost for the documented and "CERTIFIED" copies.

The new electronic equipment commonly used can translate (or transcribe) the records instantly and most have USB and other ports to hook write up to computers, which allows the transcripts to be available to burn to a disk and/or be emailed as an attached file in something like MSWord or Word Perfect...

That doesn't mean the court reporter MUST do it, just that they CAN do it.

What I meant by the reporter having put in so many hours is that she'd have to start early and organize her records every day after the testimony had ended, so 8 hours of testimony = 12-14 hours of work for the reporter.

My understanding is that Deal testified to the documents that magically appeared in the "CASE FILE", but both documents detailing what Accuser 1 was to have allegedly told Thorne were the product of Det. Keith (Investigative Summary and Interview Summary).

To nothing adds up. The discrepancies between two different off camera disclosures may be explained by what I read in the lawsuit. It appears that either two different girls or the same girl twice gave disclosures off camera. One was never corroborated and perhaps we didn't need that corroboration since the girl didn't testify to that. The other one was. This case seems to be a total frame up. One girl testifies and adults change their testimonies at the last moment to match the testimony, which seems believable by the lack of evidence during discovery. This may be the end of Gregor and Arnt. Suborning perjury and fabricating evidence is some pretty serious charges.

Oh almost forgot. I despise above all hypocrisy. Arnt and Gregor called the defense witnesses whores of the court. It appears that their witnesses, paid for by tax payer money, was that. It appears that calling Mrs. Craft,((from court,(how do you know Mrs. Craft is lying ,...her lips is moving)) a liar should have been self directed.

Yep. Don't forget that the prosecutors claimed that Ms. Craft was "not cooperating" because she hired defense counsel.

These guys are liars and bullies, period. As for the exact statement on Dr. Fajman, I have not heard yet. I need to ask someone who was there and heard it. I do know he said something that misrepresented it, and the defense objected, and Outhouse replied, "He's on close."

The date for the custody case was changed because of, you guessed it, Joal Henke!! What a piece of work this man is. He is doing what ever he can to keep Tonya from her kids. I hope Judge Williams is as fair and ethical as everyone says she is. Joal continues to give her the finger at every turn and I can only hope Judge Williams returns the favor:)) Those kids need to be taken away from Joal as soon as possible!

For some unknown reason, I had thought Det. Keith testified to some minor stuff necessary to introduce some evidence, but, with my records on the first couple days of tweets leaving much to desire, I'm uncertain that he did.

Deal started testifying on Day 8, April 21. Jury selection was the first 2 days. My records kept on tweets are close to 100% starting Day 5, April 18, so unless he testified before then and I'd just missed it, he did NOT testify.

I hope you are making a joke. Joal Henke is manipulative, dishonest, and had the nickname of "Homewrecker." Let us just say that Eric Echols found out some interesting things about him during his investigation.

And, don't forget that Henke's "I just remembered" testimony under oath did not pass the smell test. I'm curious as to what stunt he and Chuck Dupree will pull next, but don't look for Joal to go down without fighting dirty.

No William Anderson not joking. Using children to punish the parents is how this mess got started in the first place. I'm hoping we learned from our mistakes. Tonya Craft does appear to have been given a raw deal but it's unfair to the children to take it out on them.

Take it out on them??? Joal continues to use them to get back at Tonya!! He is a pathetic excuse for a human!! I feel sorry for those kids and only hope that Judge Williams does what is best for them and being with Joal and Sarah is far from BEST!!!

I understand regarding the children, and the comment in retrospect is appropriate. Nonetheless, Joal is a manipulative guy, and no telling what he and Sarah have been saying to the children.

As I go through the interview with Tonya's daughter and Suzi Thorne, it is unbelievable to see Thorne taking the act of putting medicine on a child's bottom and turning it into sexual assault. Furthermore, they alleged in the indictments that Tonya had been sexually abusing the child since birth.

Thorne clearly was not trying to find out if there was sexual abuse, but rather trying to use interviewing tricks to confuse the child and then to build a criminal case against Tonya. It really is despicable, to put it mildly.

anon3:04,3:37,4;01 you really need to get your head out of your butt for a few moments.The children do need to be FAR away from Joel.He has hurt his children in so many ways.A good parent would never harm their child in the ways he has.

I was talking with a friend at church last week. She is divorced and since re-married, expecting her second child with second husband any time. Her first marriage produced a son. That first marriage ended, well, let's say it wasn't very amicable.

I mentioned this case, and the custody issue and the things Joal did and continues to do. She said, "No matter what, you never, never, NEVER say anything bad about your child's other parent in front of them." She went on to say that it doesn't matter what they do or you think they've done, you should never let the child hear it, let alone telll them things like, "Mommy/Daddy lied to the police."

This is coming from a woman who is in similar situation as Joal henke--divorced parent, remarried (of course, her position is different in that unlike Joal, her new spouse is a very good, Christian man, who served his country in Afghanistan). Coming from a person who easily could go down the same road as Joal, this shows the nature of the people who manipulated those children.

That is why we need to study Christ's nature. We only know evil by seeing good. We know the Henkes, Lambs, and others are so bad because we see people who are so much better. We know we are such evil, dastardly sinners by looking at God's law and comparing that with Jesus' character, and we see how wholy perfect He is compared to us. We should desire to try to be more like Him in order not to sin any more. We can't do it on our own. We can only become better by letting Him work within us. Likewise, Henke, if he hopes to ever keep contact with his children needs to seek and obtain help.

There are so many Christian parallels in this case. Unfortunately, many of the players are not seeking salvation (per se), and are rather like the pharasees who, when confronted with TRUTH, said, "I am not in need of saving." I would suggest that they have done these things and continue on in error for the same reason as did the pharasees, because God is not in their hearts.

I highly doubt that both sides wanted to delay the date. Joal is up to no good and trying to manipulate the system!! He is doing what ever he can to delay this hearing! I feel that his days are numbered:)

What is in the best interest of the children is to return them to their mother as soon as possible. She was the custodial parent prior to these crazy allegations. TEMPORARY custody was granted because of these crazy allegations. Tonya was NOT in the middle of stupid couple using the kids for vengance. Joal DID this. How can it be in the children's best interest to leave them with the father that never paid child support, told them to lie and lied to them in the most evil way by brainwashing his daughter with sexual accusations about Tonya. What kind of father even wants his little girl to have any knowledge of thing of a sexual nature???? How can leaving them in this situation to hear more lies and manipulation be in their best interest. Sure, it is going to be tough on the kids to adjust. But they will with Tonya and David's unconditional love.

The reason there no court on the 7th is, next week all parties are coming together to see what is the best why to handle reunifacation process. You cant just rip the child away from one and give it to the other. There's a process and the Judge is fully aware of what going on And the transcripts from the trail that are needed, are in the hands of all involved.

Anon 5:44pm You cant just rip the child away from one and give it to the other.God bless, I am soo sick of hearing that this is what we are asking for - when this what was DONE to the children by there father!Latest news below

Noone was saying you were asking anything. It was a reply to earlier comments. Sorry if it affended you, but some were saying to do the same thing again. Yes it sucks what JH has been a party too. As a matter of fact, a good butt kicking out behind the woodshed would please me. But in that childs eyes he's still daddy.

I hope that all accusers in catoosa county are reading these blogs because there are a lot more cases going on right now where people are falsely accused and people are still losing everything because of these false accusations. Of course they keep saying "my child would never lie about anything like this" whatever, a child says whatever he needs to say to get out of trouble. It is way too easy to accuse somebody in today's system. Guilty until proven innocent

what I'm saying is JH is a butt wipe. And from what I was told He's going to be paying for a Long time. But cooler heads are prevailing and the parties are meeting to try to work out a peaceful solution.

Yes to the 5 fine families go away & earlier when Mr.Anderson refered to Sherri Wilson may I add she is nothing more than a fat ass.Sherri do you own a mirror?Do you not see how ugly & fat to are?How sad for her kids,but ugly & fat is in they're future.

Sherri Wilson will never think she did anything wrong.She walks around like she is a queen,she is the most rude & hateful person you will ever see.The way she looks I have no idea why she acts that way.If she was beautiful I might get it.But she is butt face ugly & fat.

Mr. Anderson, thanks for such good research and informative blogs reTonya Craft fiasco. I so admire her for her dignity and grace under such extreme pressure. I pray she has her children returned to her and that she wins her lawsuit against that corrupt gang.

I just wondered if anyone else had hear anything about and incident that was told to me by a friend who works at the Hixson Walmart. A couple of weeks ago she said that they had to intervene in an altercation where several women were screaming at Tonya in the store and had her more or less pinned against the counter. The security personnel had to come and break up the "gang" before Tonya could get away. The incredible part of this story is that my friend said that Tonya asked that they not call the police and that she just held her head up high and continued to shop. Lord, what grace under pressure. What a role model. I just can't express how much I admire her. She deserves so much good to have had so much bad in her life.

I am the real BamaFan I did not say anything at 7:51,53,56,57.My guess is that you are Sherri's kids,grow up & get a life.If you are the Wilsons the one going to HS next year,watch out they already know about you.

Wow!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!you really have no friends,who goes online on Friday night to cause problems?You only made cheerleading because of your fat ass mother.No one likes you,crawl into a hole.Again no one likes your fat ass,you have lost friends because of how you act.

It's funny the Wilsons oldest was trying to cause problems here tonight,as soon as someone named her & called her out she ran & ran fast.This is why we no longer want them at school.But they will never leave,the are so full of shit they will never now the truth.

Come on guys, why do you need to get on this site & trash some innocent children. "Children" being the key word. This is just plain cruel. I am not for either side, but I happen to know all of these children & they are good kids. Even if they were not good kids, you should be the bigger person. What is to gain here by saying all of this about the kids. Leave the kids out of this. Kids do not choose their parents. Karma is a bitch and for those of you who are being so cruel to the Wilson girl, I hope you are prepared to answer for your actions.

I wish some people would just get off of this blog. Please take your childish games and your trashy mouths someplace else. I don't care who you are, who your mother is, what size she is, what she looks like, or what you look like. Just please understand that the majority of people on here are here for a reason...and that reason is not to listen to you. Good grief, you people make yourselves look like embiciles. Give it a rest! PLEASE.

Clearly they are "children" themselves. They can't even spell. It makes them feel better to try & be a big bully. You are correct they are on here for the wrong reasons. I feel bad for them because clearly they are so unhappy that they have to talk trash. Grow up you immature High School Girls. Yes I could probably name you by name.

You shouldn't dare me, because that would be really really bad for you & your friends. Yes I know who you are. There are three of you, who spend every waking moment together. Good Lord, get a hobby, grow up act like you have half a brain. This is not what this site is for. Why don't you go get on facebook like normal teenagers do. How do you consider yourself a "better" person for talking trash? I am sure your parents would be very proud.

This keeps sounding like some of the crap I saw on Series 3 of The Apprentice (UK). Four of the girls got together and just acted like a total bunch of high school cheerleader bitches. They tried to get the girls they didn't like eliminated, particularly Lucinda, because she wouldn't play along with their clique mentality. In the end, all the bitches got eliminated, because they'd screw up and show their true colors in the board room. And guess what, Lucinda went all the way to the second-to-last episode.

That's exactly what is happening with Ms Craft, a bunch of total bitches got together to hang out to dry a woman they thought screwed them over, and in the end, they only screwed themselves (or other Joal Henke...low blow, sorry).

Sandra, Sherri, Miriam, and the rest of you, to quote Sir Alan Sugar: "You're a total bloody shambles. You're fired!"

Mr Anderson has their IP addresses. If one of these teens ever drove the other to harm themselves, they could face some serious consequences. The bullying laws are becoming pretty rigid. Then again, in Georgia, south is north, left is right, up is down... In a backward state, bullying may be perceived as a kind gesture. (No intended offense to you Georgians, but your legal system is an embarrassment!)

I have checked with some people and I think that the alleged incident did not happen.

As for the spate of comments here, I am not sure what to do, although deleting a bunch of them is an option. I want to stick to the relevant portions of the trial, as well as the behavior of prosecutors and judges in the LMJC. I'm not particularly interested in someone's looks or their weight issue.

And I am interested in issues of perjury and leading and confusing questions used by the CAC. Let us stick to business, please.

Thank you Bill, Kerwyn and others for your intelligence and insight into this case. It has made a tangled mess easier to understand. I read every blog and will continue to follow no matter the subject. Bill s fascinating and truly one of the most intelligent bloggers of today. I am a little scrappy @ times and am easily enticed to argue with ignorance so I will limit my comments but will not stop reading the blog or encouraging others to read them, a lie is always uglier than the truth...I'm not so sure anymore. I think in this situation the truth is just as ugly, the truth being the corrupt officials and so called experts were willing to do anything to convict an INNOCENT Women.

Dr Anderson is right. The weight of a perosn is not relevant to this forum. I for one am not the most handsome or in-shape man. That's why I hike the mountains of northern utah and play racquetball whenever I can. And as for being fat, I was telling this to someone else just a few hours ago, there are two sisters I know. They are both half-white-half-latin. One is darker skinned, incredibly gorgrous face, eyes that make the hardest heart melt, long, flowing hair, slender figure, just all-around beautiful...on the outside. The other is not at all attractive, at least 60 lbs overweight, short greasy hair, dull eyes, not at all attractive face, and is generally unappealing...on the outside. Personality wise, the pretty sister is stuck-up, spoiled, high maintainence, does good things more for the recognition than for any altruistic purpose, and wouldn't have anything to do with a guy who's slightly less attractive than Matt Damon. The ugly sister is just the sweetest thing, and has a heart of pure gold, with a sense of humor, and a picture of christian humility.

So, I think we shouldn't judge Sherri Wilson, or anyone else, based upon their looks. If we do, that is the same as if the jury had let Ms Craft 'off the hook' because she's pretty. As Dr King said, we should judge people solely on the content of their character. Black-white, trim-fat, rich-poor, educated-Baptist (ha, ha, sorry, I couldn't resist), we are all created equal, and when we die we all go back to dust.

This series on the testimony of the accusers has just been fascinating to read. It has confirmed by it's well-researched, logical, chronological detail the general "something doesn't smell right" feelings I've had from the very beginning about this case.

One thought that came to me as I was reading and rereading these posts is what would have happened if there were only one accuser who alleged one or two specific instances of some touching or other inappropriate behavior, but without the outrageous hand penetration, etc. Personally, I think there would have been a greater chance of Tonya having been found guilty. In a strange way, the multiple counts from multiple accusers actually made the defense's job easier.

Whoever the instigator was ignored the KISS rule (keep it simple, stupid). I'm sure the belief was by ganging up on Tonya, at least some of it would stick, and I imagine Arnt and Gregor were all down with that too since the multiple counts/accusers guaranteed plenty of headlines for them to bask in when they wrapped up another successful railroading of an innocent person. Thankfully, just the opposite occurred.

Well, at the beginning, I thought that the parents actually believed that there was molestation. However, the more I go over the material, the more I see that it really was a conspiracy.

Like all conspiracies of amateurs, this one did not hold together very well. The only reason it went this far was because prosecutors have a lot of power, and "judge" Brian House was tag teaming with Arnt and Gregor.

These people really think they are Great Prosecutors when, in reality, they are liars and bullies. And don't worry folks. People are putting together material to deliver to the State Bar that cannot be ignored.

DMK, I think you have a valid point. The complexity of this conspiracy is what caused it to unravel. One or two specific allegations by one "victim" would have made a much more water-tight case. Of course, there was still the physical evidence showing that, to my knowledge, no penetration occurred, ever. So, if they really wanted to get her, they would have been better off doing something to her or having her do something to herself. That would have been a clincher. And, honestly, knowing what I now know about these people, I wouldn't put it past them to do that. I think the only reason they didn't is they thought they already had enough. If it came down to whether or not to do something to her as the hinging point of gaining a conviction, I think they probably would have. They already put her through hell just to satisfy themselves, what's one little more bit of trauma for the girl. I really feel sorry for the girls, yes, even RL. I wouldn't want parents willing to put me through those kinds of things just to get revenge upon someone.

As for Mr Mcdonald, I think he was coerced. He said before he didn't think his daughter was molested, then suddenly changed his mind and said he never thought she was fibbing. Yeah, if he did that and then wasn't named as a co-defendant, he was probably coerced into testifying for the prosecution, and now that the trial is over is likely in back-room talks with Ms Craft's people about it.

I would agree with Lame's comment on Jerry McDonald. However, there is no doubt in my mind that a number of people involved, including the prosecutors, Tim Deal, Sandra Lamb, Joal and Sarah Henke, the CAC/Greenouse crowd, and Sherri and Dewayne Wilson knew exactly what they were doing, and they knew that the charges were not true.

The reason I say that is that all of them were willing to lie on the stand and change their original testimony to something that would fit either the "hand rape" lie or something else. For example, Sarah Henke, when faced with having to explain why she was showering with Tonya's daughter (and having the little girl hold Sarah's labia while she shaved, which is just plain perverted), suddenly came up with the explanation that the child was "dirty with matted hair."

Thus, she could claim that she wanted to make sure this poor, sexually abused, neglected little girl could get clean. That, folks, is perjury. Perjury.

We know about Joal's perjury as well. (I wonder how it is that the good people at the Eastwood Church are willing to look past their members engaging in extremely serious violations not only of the law, but how their willingness to lie on the witness stand in order to try to engineer a wrongful conviction. I can guarantee you that if one of our members did something like that, the person at the very least would be disciplined. Furthermore, the church will tell that person either to "make it right" by confessing the perjury to the authorities, or he or she would be excommunicated.)

One of the things that disturbs me the most about this affair has been the reluctance of the churches of Northwest Georgia to deal with the fact that some of their members engaged in behavior that so seriously compromises justice in that area that no one can have confidence that the players in the system are willing to do what is right. Read the Bible on what is says about people who "pervert justice."

Yet, the people who claim to believe that Bible are willing to pretend that it does not apply to the behavior of THEIR members. As far as I am concerned, a few churches in that area need to hang "out of business" signs on their lawns and shut down for good. Either that, or they need to replace their crosses with Wicca symbols and embrace the religion that they seem to be following. I have nothing good to say about churches that apparently encourage people to sing about Jesus on Sunday and then spit in His face the rest of the week.

It is one thing to say that all of us are sinners and I am as much a sinner as the biggest liar in the courtroom. However, it is quite another to be willing to go under oath, lie, know you are lying (and others know you are lying), and then to be able to go to church and have everyone there act as though nothing happened. I simply cannot get past that fact.

Bill, my dad had an expression for those kinds of folks while he raised up us kids. It was 'Monday through Friday sinners, Sunday churchgoers.' According to Dad, those folks never saw their wagging tongues as wrong, so long as they confessed their sins privately to God. Oh no. That was nothing but their private idea of justice. And they'll go on justifying these sins despite having the truth of their deceptions thrust in their face, for they confessed privately and that's it, it's all over and forgiven in their eyes.Unfortunately, their deceptive practices destroyed than Tonya Craft's peace of mind over the last two years. She can't ever teach again in GA unless the laws regarding a criminal record are changed. Her kids are still in the custody of a man who doesn't care what his current wife does, so long as he keeps them from the ex. Those so-called friends strut around full of their type of goodness, all the while making disparging remarks and keeping the pain alive because they actually believe the jury made a mistake thanks to our misguided district attorney. Even the civil suit fails to impress them, because they are right and the rest of the world is wrong.So, I have a comment my mom used to tell me when I wanted to do whtat other teens were doing way back when. If the rest of the world jumped off a cliff, would you do it, too? I do believe Tonya's accusers and persecutors would.

To me, something that is very significant is that right now, no one in the LMJC who is charged with a crime can go into a courtroom with any assurance at all that the judge and the prosecutors and the others involved are willing to do what is right. My sense is that civil suits fall into the same category.

Think about what this means, for what these people are doing goes to the very heart of what it means to have a justice system and a functioning society. It is one thing to say that justice is applied by flawed people, people who sometimes do things in error.

However, what we saw in the Tonya Craft trial and others like it was not "error" per se, but rather outright deceit. People who act dishonestly in the name of justice and then go to church on Sunday are spitting in the face of Jesus, period. There is no way around it.

If the churches of Northwest Georgia were serious, they would start throwing out some of their members for what they are doing. How is it that we can have a heavily-churched population, yet have a system of "justice" that is utterly corrupt? These things cannot be reconciled.

Before reading this posting, I was sure that the liability against the Wilson's was minimal at best. I was not present during testamony, so my observations were only from what the media put out.

Mr. Wilson did not testify, and Mrs. Wilson testified minimally, that is to say she brought the accusations forth. I figured she would be covered in that as a Mandatory Reporter, when a child states she has been sexually abused, it is her duty to report this to the proper authorities.(and in LMJC even that is questionable)Bringing to light the hand rape allegations, I can't for a minute believe that Mrs. Wilson ever believed it. A child or adult for that matter would have been horribly injured by such actions. I further do not accept that she does not know what her obligations are as a licensed EMT who is charged as a mandatory reporter from the onset of their school. I always thought that their intention was to get "the tramp out of their school system" and had no way of knowing that it was going to snowball into the storm it has caused. However, anyone that knows even the minimal amounts about the law should realize that a charge of such heinous acts was going to bring forth a trial, and likely a conviction that would put someone away for the rest of their life. This is just bizarre to me. My interactions with Mr. Wilson have always left the impression that he is a decent person. I of course have never been on the side of contempt with him either, so that could be why he seems that way. As for Mrs. Wilson. I know her parents, and I can say without hesitation that they are good, decent people. I saw her father in a restaurant the other day, eating. With no one around, (so it wasn't a show for the people) I saw him take the time to bless his meal and thank God for his blessings. (How many of us do this regularly?)I have not asked him his opinion of the proceedings, and would not do so. I can tell you though, having known him for a while, I can see the effect this whole fiasco has had on him.

I do know that Mr. Wilson has good attorneys, and they have told them to not comment to any media or anyone else about the pending lawsuit, Apparently no one has told our good Sheriff the same. Someone needs to tell him to shut up. He is digging himself into a hole the size of the sinkhole in Guatamala City with his media appearances, and of course they are going to let him keep on digging. That will make for a better story as they haul him out of federal court in handcuffs.So if you are reading this Sheriff Summers, SHUT UP!!! YOU ARE MAKING IT WORSE FOR YOU AND YOUR DEPARTMENT.And to Tim Deal, get ready Bud, your boss will likely throw you under the bus to save his own skin.

I don't quite understand why you say "children come first" mentality is what lead to this travesty of justice. I would say that the truth come second only if the truth would hurt the children and a white lie would spare the children from being hurt at least until they grow up and are able to understand things in perspective.

In the Tonya Craft case I don't see how those lies (that Tonya molested the children) would have benefited those very children.

After I posted my previous post, I thought, maybe, you meant "to believe the testimonies of the children" by "children come first". If that is the case, you need to understand that those testimonies are the result of the manipulation by the adults around those children who conspired against Tonya Craft.

Keep talking Sheriff Summers it is great entertainment. If he does anything but stand by his department he is admitting things were not handled appropriately and he will not admit to that. He has a deputy on his force who beat a man with his club, the man sued and won. The man did break the law he was running from the officer, the officer hit him with his patrol car and while the man was down with broken bones the officer beat him with a club. It was all caught on tape and shown on the local news channels. I do not advocate running from the police or breaking the law but I sure do not advocate an officer beating a man who is down. You would think Sheriff Summers would have let that officer go. Mr. Summers you and your employees are going to bankrupt Catoosa County.

Let me clarify my above post, the suit was settled out of court and the investigation found the officer was not guilty of any wrong doing, but if you see the tape I don't think any of you would agree with that finding. Google Shane Edward Rogers and read the articles.

Kathy, I am well aware of that case. The tape was in evidence locker, and was secretly distributed to the media by the major of the department, who had a grudge against the officer... Seems like that officer and the Major's ex-wife were having a thing... They are now married. Funny thing was the only one terminated in that deal was the major, who promptly went to work at the Walker County Sheriff's Department.

For example, Sarah Henke, when faced with having to explain why she was showering with Tonya's daughter (and having the little girl hold Sarah's labia while she shaved, which is just plain perverted), suddenly came up with the explanation that the child was "dirty with matted hair."

Was this documented in testimony or in a statement re Sarah Henke ? If so, why is Sarah Henke not being prosecuted for sexual abuse? This is more than just being inappropriate, it is IMO abuse.

Oh, it is documented, although Sarah lied on the stand by claiming that Tonya's daughter did not help her shave her pubic areas. It was clear that she HAD done just that.

Keep in mind that the prosecution witnesses pretty much were told that they could lie under oath, since no one in Franklin's office was going to prosecute them for perjury. I would be very curious to know what Arnt and Gregor told Kelli Wilson to say after Sandra's child gave the "hand rape" story on the stand.

If they got her to change her story so that she would relate the "hand rape" nonsense in the way that she testified, then they suborned perjury. When prosecutors do these things, they are making a mockery of justice and declaring that they are above the law.

Mr. Anderson, the sheer arrogance of those people absolutely amazes me. It appears that all of them think they are above the laws of the country and the laws of GOD. I would not be able to live with myself.

My grandaughter is seven. After she showers she likes for me to help her put body lotion on her. I have thought about Tonya each time I do since this trial ended and you have given us so much information.

Do you honestly think any of these people will answer for their wrongdoings in a court? Bobb

The video of Shane Edward Rogers was televised nationally on Fox News and created quite a stir. Bobby Lee Cook was his attorney and he filed a $6 million lawsuit for civil rights violations against his client. According to this article, they were cleared of all wrong-doing so I don't believe there was ever a settlement.

Georgia is notorious for protecting the wrongdoing of police and prosecutors, and the commission that investigates judges has been financially gutted. To give you a short answer, it is, "No."

The only way to change any of that is to continue to make noise and for jurors to send a message to people like Arnt, Gregor, and Franklin that they no longer are considered to be trustworthy.

I hope that Tonya is able to get justice, but from what I can tell, the most vulnerable people, legally speaking, are those from the CAC and Greenhouse. They don't have legal immunity, and they don't have a huge apparatus protecting them like the police and prosecutors.

Take out the CAC and Greenhouse, and suddenly Arnt and Gregor no longer will have the ready-made, one-stop-shopping testimony they have used to convict innocent people. In my post tomorrow, you will see what I mean about the bad faith of the CAC/Greenhouse crowd.

I imagine Bill that Arnt, Gregor, and House will find a pressing need to upgrade their resume's in the private sector once the voters get through with them. Of course, any one would be awful leery over hiring a person who pursued felony charges to a person who did nothing other then to attend to the medical needs of their child.

Unfortunately, House is the only one of those three who will have to answer directly to the voters. As ADAs, Arnt and Gregor are basically just state employees. The key to getting rid of them (through the electoral process anyway) is saying good riddance to our illustrious elected District Attorney, the cowardly Buzz Franklin. Rumor was he probably wasn't going to run again anyway, and if there was any truth to that at all, I would think it almost certain he won't after all of this. So, LMJC voters will need to be very, very careful who they elect to replace him and make it clear that the first second of the first minute of his or her first term in office better be spent handing out some pink slips. Problem is, Arnt and Gregor won't want to give up their service time toward their state pension, so before that happens they will probably just move to some other backwoods Georgia judicial circuit and set up shop using the skills they perfected up here.

To say Angel EMS employees are inept you must first know their protocols and whether or not they follow them. Do you know those? Second of all if the employees are inept the ER doctors who receive the patients in the ER would step in. I'm not talking about Hutcheson in itself but Erlanger, Memorial, Northpark ect. If you have a complaint with a specific employee then call the hospital the patient was taken to and complain to that ER doctor. To group a whole service into your comment is more than irresponsible. These people had no choice when the hospital ambulance service went under either work for Angel or don't work and believe me they did not like it. 99% of those employees were on Tonya's side. When you or someone in your family needs an ambulance they will be their and they may even save your life someday regardless of how inept you think they are. One more thing if Ft Ogelthorpe did have another service I can promise you it would be staffed with ex Angel employees. Why blame the employees for the actions of their employer.

I take exception to your post. I take my job and my training very seriously, and I assure you if you were laying in a ditch bleeding, or having a cardiac event or stroke, You would be doing damn good to have me be the one that comes to take care of you.While there are some employees at Angel that are less than perfect, show me one company that has all perfect employees, and I will show you a service that this County can't afford to have. (hint. there are not any services out there like that.)Why don't you move to Walker County where you get fire and EMS all rolled into one, and see what kind of service you get there. They have lost all of their best, experienced medics due to the way that service is ran into the ground by the fire department. Or better yet, spend the three years in school it takes to become a Paramedic, and come show us how it is done. You wouldn't last 8 hours doing my job!

Anonymous 7:59,Thank you for defending the ambulance workers/first responders. You are absolutely right to do so. I have worked in the ER and know how capable they are. Unfortunately, a jealous, little minded troll can always say something negative instead of doing something positive.

Shocked"My thoughts...Mrs. Wilson testified minimally, that is to say she brought the accusations forth. I figured she would be covered in that as a Mandatory Reporter, when a child states she has been sexually abused, it is her duty to report this to the proper authorities. ...Bringing to light the hand rape allegations, I can't for a minute believe that Mrs. Wilson ever believed it."

You make a good point about that "mandatory reporter" there, how it was the excuse for reports.

Sherry Wilson was present when that hand motion of fingerS event was to have happened May 24th.

Saundra Lamb was present also.

Dwayne Lamb would have known of the tale and he talked to Det. Keith.

We all know Det. Keith would have then talked to Saundra and Sherry about it.

The CAC had the tale reported to them, became involved.

The Stacey Long surely had heard WHY she was conducting the first interview that did not seek to capture the tale already told.

Saundra had hinted Tonya's name numerous times in her May 19 report to the child services.

But, the "hand motion" tale was a secret, to be kept from Det. Keith's reporting until June 4, and then it was just a "finger".

That makes me certain Sherry Wilson never believed it, as the "hand motion" tale was NOT told on May 24.

Thank You anonymous 8:13 I am anonymous 7:59. I am not a Paramedic or rescue worker but my step father is, I will admit I couldn't do the job and would not want the responsibility that it entails. He is up 24 hrs most of the time running calls (he works 24 hr shifts) and never complains. He loves his job and takes pride in it. He never brags about saving lives or the things he does but instead he is saddened by the ones who are to far gone for him to help. He has cried many tears for many strangers and has had nightmares about some of the things he has seen. I understand the troll issue and it is best to ignore them but I know you agree some things are worth fighting for.

All I can say is that paramedics do great work, and these people are as important as the best surgeons in emergency situations. I continue to marvel at what they do, and I want people to understand that I have a lot of respect for EMTs and others in that business.

I agree with Dr Anderson. Leave the people, organizations, and companies that are peripheral to the issue of injustice out of this. People are talking about boycotting this restaurant and that funeral parlor. Unless you have direct evidence that they were involved in this, it's a non-issue that someone involved in this case is somehow affiliated with them. It's one thing if the owner of a compnay used company funds to pay off judges and witnesses, but that is not the case here--someone alleged something to that fact, but never provided a shred of evidence to support that accusation, so as with Ms Craft, innocent until proven guilty. If you don't like something about or someone involved with a company, it's OK not to want to do business with them, but please don't spread rumors, and don't say, "They're all a bunch of idiots" when they're not. The only bunch of idiots here are those who actively tried to frame Ms Craft and metaphorically managed to put their underwear on the outside of their pants.

I am a resident of Catoosa county. Mr. Anderson is correct on the corruption going on in the LMJC. If, it had not been for Mr. Anderson and the media, Tonya Craft would have fried. I am not saying that they won her case. They were helping all of us in this circuit, exposing how corrupt our legal system has become.

I was listening to Talk Radio in Chattanooga, TN, Mr. Anderson when you called in & spoke with Jeff Styles that morning. You really inspired me that day. My hope & prayer is what you are saying & doing will really happen. That's also the day, I knew there was hope for Mrs. Craft.

Summers, Franklin, Gregor, Arnt & the judges in the LMJC do believe they are above the law. There are 2 ring leaders in this circuit. There is one that is in Walker Co., who I do not know. His office is in LaFayette, GA (Walker County). The other one is atty BLC in Chattooga Co. Arnt is actually one of his protege's. When Arnt & Gregor were making all that commotion in the courtroom. It was just a deversion to distract the jury. If, anyone has ever seen BLC in court, you would know exactly what I am talking about. That's how BLC tries to win all of his cases; by distracting the jury. I was so concerned that the jury could be tainted because that goes on, also in this circuit. I am very thankful it was not.

The medical field will not even allow a doctor to do surgery on any immediate family member.

I have been speaking out about this corruption in all 4 of these counties for over 5 years, at the very least. I talked to one of the reporters yesterday and they told me they were a total wreck everyday, during the trial, when it was time to get in their car & go home. They were very concerned about being pulled over for no reason but being accused of something. I live like that everyday.

I also have a 15 yr old daughter who I have discussed this case with but would never allow her to be reading these blogs. That tells you what kind of parents the Wilson's portray themselves to be, if it is their children on this site. Action speaks louder than words, is what I have been told all my life.

Please, forgive me for rambling but I really have so much I could say. I have lived in Catoosa Co. since 1988 and I am horrified over this very trial. I will never allow my daughter to baby sit because of this very trial.

Mr. Anderson, could the Sheriff of Catoosa County, who I now cannot stand, have contacted the GBI, when he saw there was no case against Mrs. Craft and stopped this 3 ring circus? That's why I hold him as much as responsible as the prosecutors.

I pray also, that someone with clean hands will run against Summers in his re-election. I didn't vote for House and I will never vote for Summers again. I will campaign against him along with many others who feel like I do.

Oh yeah Phil, if you are reading this thanks for not coming to our all class reunion this past weekend. We had a wonderful time. I do not know Dewayne or Sherry Wilson but Mr. Leroy Wilson his daddy was there. I really felt sorry for him. His daughter-in-law has ruined his good name in this area.

Sandra Lamb it appears that you will probably lose your home because you will not be able to afford it after your divorce. It's a good thing Greg was smart and filed against you. As far as, the Henke's go. It's all about not paying the child support. That is the bottom line, as far as Sarah goes anyway, in my opinion. Sarah is only around 28 or 30 years old. A very immature young woman. I am sure Keller Williams is not getting much business these days and it's not because of the economy. There's another old saying, what goes around comes around.

Thanks to all the readers for allowing me this time to express my opinion. I am a very vocal advocate to purge the corruption from our legal systems. I appreciate you, Mr. Anderson and all your readers who are doing this for the right reasons. Like you said, this corruption did not just begin with the Craft trial.

I don't know if anyone is still reading this thread, but I thought I'd share with you something. Did you know that South Park, almost ten years ago, did an episode that eerilly parallels aspects of the Tonya Craft trial?

Here is Chris Arnt trying to confuse the jury:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LhvAs5GsMPw&feature=related

Lame, yes, I for one still check this thread and THANKS for posting the URL. My children reminded me about this episode right after the trial was over. They are big fans of the show. Me, not so much, but the comparison to Ain't's closing "argument" is dead on.

Thanks TPG. I try most of the time to be nice, but sometimes people just need a healthy dose of sarcastic insult comedy, ala Triump the Insult Comedy Dog, to remind them that they live on Planet Earth and not on Mount Olympus.

kbp, I know this is a day late & a dollar short, but I have been sick & am just now catching up on the latest posts.

Det. Keith did testify in the trial, he was either the first or one of the first. His testimony was very quick as he really had nothing pertinent to say. Basically he said he was the first one to take the case & turned it over to Deal 2 days later because of conflict of interest. It's funny because even though he is supposedly the one who "documented" the alleged "hand rape", he had already removed himself from the case & wasn't involved in any of the interviews. This is what sent me reeling after the "I don't remember who was there" & "the magic notes". The fact that Keith testified that he recused himself at the end of May, immediately made the light bulb pop up in my head. I know a lot of people don't remember or have anything saved from the first couple of days of trial (they were basic items & quick testimonies), but if anyone can find it, it will make you even more angry at the lies. Trust me, I called his wife out on it because she was running her mouth & I told her that since she was the wife of a state witness & a detective, she might want to quiet herself.

Also, during one of Summers' interviews after the trial, he went on endlessly about detective Keith being there for many of the interviews which totally went against everything Keith testified to.

About Me

I teach economics at Frostburg State University in Frostburg, Maryland. We are located on the Allegheny Plateau, and we have cool summers and tough winters.
I am the single father of five children, four of them adopted from overseas and I have two grandchildren. My family and I are members of Faith Presbyterian Church (PCA).